Using Health Care Data to Track and Improve Public Health

JAMA: What do you do to stay healthy? DR MURTHY: I can tell you what I do, but I don’t want people to think that’s what they should do. I meditate every morning, and I practice yoga periodically. I do it [meditate] because for me it’s an important part of my emotional and mental well-being. I see emotional and mental well-being as one of the key pillars of a healthy lifestyle. Nutrition, physical activity, emotional and mental wellbeing, living a life that’s drugand tobaccofree—these are the pillars that I think are the ingredients for a healthy life. I don’t drink dairy products. That doesn’t mean other people shouldn’t. I try to incorporate activity into my life. That means not just working out on a regular basis, but trying to build activity into work. Whenever possible, I like to convert my sitting meetings to walking meetings. I try to take the stairs. I walk around the building. When it comes to nutrition, I primarily eat a plant-based diet. I eat fish as well. I try to eat foods that are low in salt and don’t have added sugar and consist [mostly] of fresh fruits and vegetables.